Just as in the days of Elijah (1 Kings 19:18), God has His faithful remnant. These have an open ear to hear His word. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 3:22). In the times of the Apostles, the Christians from among the Jews were such a remnant. But some, having owned Christ as the Messiah, were in danger of rejecting the doctrines of Christianity and returning to the dead works of Judaism. Things were not turning out as they had hoped. Christ had not returned, they had not been freed from Roman rule, and they were suffering persecution — as believers in the midst of an unbelieving nation, their lives were often in jeopardy. Doubts arose in their minds. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews had these individuals especially on his heart. In the sixth chapter he urges them on: “leaving the word of the beginning of the Christ, let us go on to what belongs to full growth, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God” (Heb. 6:1 JND).
A parallel may be drawn today. Outwardly there are those going along with Christianity. Perhaps they have been brought up in a Christian home and they attend the assembly meetings. There may even be a desire to live the Christian life, but there has never been that inner work of salvation. As we read in the parable of the sower, Satan is always ready to snatch away the precious seed before it sprouts and bears fruit (Matt. 13:1-23). When one is truly a child of God, Satan cannot succeed; but for one who has never believed to the saving of the soul, then that individual stands in great danger.
There appears to be a sifting going on in this present day. People are being tried and large numbers of those who once identified with Christianity are no longer doing so. Even for those who are genuine, that voice of doubt can be troubling. The danger is especially great when we, as with the Hebrew Christians, have difficulty reconciling the things we see and hear with the Scriptures. Nevertheless, God and His Word must ever be that immutable Rock upon which faith rests (Heb. 6:18).
The purpose then, of a book such as this, is to encourage those whose faith is being challenged. I trust, also, that it will be an aid to those seeking to help others. It is not intended to be a book of apologetics; even if I so desired, I am not qualified to undertake such a task. Nevertheless, we will touch on some apologetics. For one to whom the Bible is foreign there may be many questions and just as many preconceived notions. If the inquiries are genuine, it is good to have sound answers rather than pat replies. To be able to refute some of the more common accusations made against the Scriptures will be helpful. Paul instructed Titus to establish elders who could, on the one hand, “encourage with sound teaching” and on the other, to “refute gainsayers” (Titus 1:9 JND).
I do not wish to suggest that we need to defend the Bible as if it were an ancient edifice that needs propping up. No, in that sense, the Bible needs no defense. It stands perfectly well on its own and has withstood the onslaught of the enemy for millennia. Nevertheless, being able to expose the deception and falsehoods employed by those who would seek to undermine the Word of God can be a real help to one with legitimate questions. Just as we deplore the hand waving and sweeping generalizations of those who attack the Bible, we, likewise, should avoid the same when giving answers to honest inquiries.